NAC Magazine: Spring-Summer 1999

Spring/Summer 1999 Rector's Corner

"When a guest comes, Christ comes."

By Rev. Msgr. Timothy M. Dolan, Rector, Class of 1976, Archdiocese of Saint Louis

The phrase, I'm told, goes all the way back to St. Benedict: Venit hospes, venit Christus - "When a guest comes, Christ comes."

Hospitality is a celebrated Christian virtue, and the North American College ranks right up there with Benedictines in carrying out this noble mandate.

A s you know, millions of visitors come to the Eternal City every year. From its founding in 1859, the College has been an oasis of welcome for American pilgrims. In fact, the College administers the "Bishops' Office for U.S. Visitors to the Vatican," that is housed in our graduate residence, the Casa Santa Maria, on the via dell'Umilta, and is ably directed by Msgr. Roger Roensch. Last year alone he assisted 52,000 American visitors to Rome, helping them see the Holy Father and enjoy the spiritual treasures of Rome, and he is creatively preparing for the throngs expected for the Great jubilee of 2000.

There are always guests at the College. As I write, the officers of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops are with us for the week in Rome consulting with various offices of the Curia. Last week we hosted cardinals and bishops here in Rome with The Papal Foundation, a group of benefactors who support the Apostolic See. And we welcomed the wonderful folks who came here as participants in the College's Second Annual Pilgrimage, plus 432 guests at the Eighth Annual Dinner, all served by our Seminarians. Yesterday at Sunday Mass we had a group from Kansas led by an alumnus. Next week, at the request of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, we will welcome thirty missionary leaders from the Third World.

A nd then there are seminarians from home, vocation directors and alumni, parents and friends who stop by.

Last week we even welcomed a distinguished group of Jewish leaders from America who presented us with a Menorah for our courtyard.

We welcome them all as we would Christ It is good for our priests and seminarians to keep in touch with the people from home, whom they arc preparing to serve once they leave the College; it is good formation, since, as parish priests, they will daily make people feel at home in the Church, welcome them at baptism, feed them at the family table at the Holy Eucharist, and bid them farewell at their death. A good parish priest has to be hospitable! And, it is good for the College, as well; so many people are impressed with the caliber of our men and the soundness of our program.

I sometimes joke that I spend half my life saying "welcome," and the other half saying "good-bye." But it is so rewarding to see how people enjoy their visit to the College, how impressed they are, and how eager they are to help us. And, we treasure them - their interest, time, support, and presence mean a lot. After all, they are "Christ."

Rev. Msgr. Timothy M. Dolan, '76

Celibacy

Falling in Love: A New Priest Tells Why He Is Celibate

BY Rev John R. Cihak, Class of 1998, Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon

My high school class of 1988 was holding its ten-year reunion. At a barbecue, amid the clinking of microbrew bottles and the chatter of what-have-you-been-doing-with-your-life?, I ran into an acquaintance whom I had known since the third grade. He was now a journalist for a West Coast newspaper... and a non-Catholic who was genuinely delighted to hear that I had just recently been ordained a Catholic priest. His reporter instincts kicked in and he began firing questions. Soon we were discussing the priests free promise of celibacy. Having found myself a tightening rod for ridicule or anger about this issue before, 1 was surprised and disarmed by his engaging and respectful approach.

I launched into the litany of sound theological and pastoral arguments. His response ran something like this: "All right, these are good reasons for a priest to be celibate, but why are YOU a celibate? Didn't you go out with Hilary? Weren't you at the winter formal with Laurie over there? Didn't you and your brothers have that rock band that cranked out the tunes at the annual chicken barbecue and street dance?" His questions, beginning now to seem pushy, forced me to think more deeply. Why would a Generation "X"er, whose life to the casual observer probably didn't seem that different from his fellow students at a public high school in the mid1980s, voluntarily choose celibacy? In retrospect, I realize that there is really only one answer to his question: I am celibate because I have found Jesus Christ and fallen in love

Father John Cihak is currently working on a Licentiate in Fundamental Theology.

This response may take the questioner by surprise. "You're celibate because you've fallen in love?" For St. John Vianney, patron saint of parish priests, the priesthood is "the love of the heart of Jesus." We only know love to the degree that God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit has revealed Himself to the world. He has done so totally and concretely in Jesus Christ, especially in His passion, death and resurrection. Jesus is divine love in the flesh. When a man has tasted love, especially divine love, and lets it penetrate his heart, he cannot help but be changed. Jesus offers his love to me as a priest concretely in a "call," a call to love Him in an utterly specific way, a vocation requiring my free "yes."

He has called me to celibate love of Him and all those whom He came to save (everyone!). Celibacy takes root through the action of the Holy Spirit. He floods a man's heart with the gift of profound love of God and the Church, a love which cannot be contained; and He harnesses that love in a sacramental presence in the Church, a love for the sake of building the Kingdom. The gift and the call to celibacy become one.

P riestly celibacy isn't a rule to be endured, arbitrarily imposed on a man's life. Rather, it is a highly visible expression of love, a provocative witness of one striving to give himself totally in love. I've gladly promised

expression of love, a provocative witness of one striving to give himself totally in love. I've gladly promised life-long celibacy not because I've been judged psychologically deficient or lack passion, but because I've fallen in love. just as anyone who knows what true love require, thus do I willingly share in the breathless exhilaration and painful sacrifice of love, a love which is celibate. The priest, through his celibacy, can truly give himself away in love to God and others, joyfully bearing witness in his own flesh to the coming Resurrection, willingly sharing in the cross of the Savior of the world. Celibacy is a needed fragrance wafting through a world severely congested with selfishness. When people realize that the point of human existence is not sex but divine love, not self-promotion but self-giving, they will no longer see the celibate priest as a spectacle to deride or a baffling enigma to ignore, but as one whose heart is on fire with love for God and for them.

A t my next high school reunion ten years from now, I imagine my reporter friend will be married. I also imagine he'll still have the same question for me: "Why are you celibate?" And I'll ask him, "Well, why did you get married?" He'll likely respond, "Because I fell in love." My answer will be, "I did, too."

Book on the Pope

The "Witness to Hope"

By Edward Horkan, Class of 2002, Diocese of Arlington

In 1995, Pope John Paul II asked George Weigel, a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, to write his biography. That biography, "Witness to Hope" will be published in October 1999. The following article is based upon a recent interview with Mr. Weigel.

A ccording to Weigel, "'Witness to Hope' will be the first comprehensive biography of John Paul 11 that takes his Christian discipleship as the entry-point for its analysis. Others have portrayed a great statesman who is, almost incidentally, a Christian, a priest, and a bishop." By contrast, Weigel insists that "everything Karol Wojtyla does . . . is within the horizon of his conviction that Jesus Christ is the answer to the question that is every human life." Mr. Weigel described the Pope as more concerned with culture than politics. Thus, he stated that, "As a young man, Karol Wojtyla became convinced that culture, not politics or economics, was the driving force of history." In Mr. Weigel's words, the Pope has long believed that "the crisis of the twentieth century ... is a crisis in the order of ideas and culture: defective humanisms that have wrought havoc with our times. The Church's answer to that, he is convinced, must be the articulation of a vibrant Christian humanism, capable of re-attaching modernity's great aspiration freedom - to truth and goodness."

A long similar lines, Mr. Weigel stated A long one of the Pope's greatest accomplishments has been "reviving Christian humanism by, among other things, creating the most compelling alternative to the sexual revolution on offer in the world today." For example, Mr. Weigel believes that, "No theological proposal of the last 20 years has the breathtaking scope and implications of the Holy Father's "Theology of the Body." And, in general, Mr. Weigel said that John Paul's reign "has been a pontificate of extraordinary theological creativity, and this creativity is John Paul's primary response to the problem of dissent."

Regarding the home front, according to Mr. Weigel, the Pope "thinks that the Church in the United States is on the brink of a great revival of evangelical fervor if we have the wit and the will for it.... [The Pope] knows that any revival of American public life and culture will come primarily through American Christianity."

Travel

PASSPORT

By Paul Halladay, Class of 2000, Archdiocese of Mobile

AFRICA It was at the Alumni Association Meeting in January that I tried to speak to him. I wanted to write an article on travelling and I couldn't think of a better person to quote than the Baron of Blue Guides himself, Br. Randal Riede. It wasn't going to be easy though. His company was in high demand and by those who had a much more legitimate claim on this venerable man's time than a fourth year seminarian looking for a good quote. It happened just after the dedication of the library in his honor: I managed to steal a few precious seconds to ask him his thoughts on travelling. With that knowing smile and his wizened old voice, he said: "My boy, my words will be the words of Montaigne: 'Travel is the best teacher."' On the basis of previous conversations concerning this topic, I don't think our beloved librarian would disagree with the added exhortation: So be a good student!

ITALY If Montaigne is right, then, and if my addition to the thoughts of Br. Randal are equally correct, we can say that NACers have been diligent students of the best teacher for decades now. From Athens to Accra, Zagreb to Zanzibar and all points in between, students from the North American College have visited there, and their reasons have been as diverse as their itineraries. Some go to give succor to the suffering, some to succor their souls, others to see legendary sights they have dreamed of since childhood.

Some return telling of fives changed, some return renewed in spirit and confirmed in vocation and some come back with just plain old good stories of camaraderie that enrich the soul, strengthen the bonds of friendship, and bring a smile to the face for years to come.

AUSTRIA Y es, travel has taught the NACer about God, his fellow man, and how to live with and respect both. What else could you ask of the best of teachers?

SWITZERLAND

ISRAEL

Religion

Teachings on Preaching

By Charles W. Bell Weekend News and Views reprinted from

NY DAILY NEWS November 21, 1998

Washington Downstairs, the leadership of the U.S. Catholic Church 'as making its way through an agenda that ran from racism to religious garb and from abortion to everyday evangelism. Upstairs, in the Grand Teton suite of the Hyatt Regency Hotel, there was only one item on the agenda.

"I call it a summit meeting on preaching," said Msgr. Timothy Dolan, rector of the North American College, the American seminary in Rome. And so, in a way, it was. For a full day this week, 15 leading Catholic homilists (or preachers) shared opinions and suggestions on ways to teach seminarians to speak more effectively from the pulpit. This is a big problem, and not just at the North American. Catholics often complain about the poor quality of homilies, and the Grand Teton suite was filled with men and women who think they can do something about it.

The reason, for the workshop, said Dolan, 48, one-time diocesan priest in St. Louis and North American grad, was that the seminary is establishing an endowed chair of preaching. Virtually all seminaries provide at least one course in preaching, but, despite the avalanche of complaints from the pews, almost none of them make homiletics paramount in priestly education. One reason, possibly, is that it is Communion, not the sermon, that is central to Catholic worship. Most homilies run 10 or so minutes, tops, which often does not allow for much in the way of anecdotes, reflections and so on. So, thanks to a gift from the family of the late Rev. Carl Peter - a theologian who taught at Catholic University here - North American is going to establish a homiletics program in his Msgr. Timothy Dolan, '76, listening attentively to honor. recommendations for enhancements to the preaching program at the College.

"So," said Dolan, "talk to me." One by one, the 13 priests and two nuns did just that, starting with an eightminute answer to the question, "If you were charged with structuring a homiletics program at the North American College, what would it look like?" "Teach them to use a mike," said the Rev. Alfred McBride, of

Weston, Mass., "and teach them to make eye contact with the congregation." More seriously, McBride suggested that homilies contain only one point - "It's the hardest thing to do," he said - and that priests speak in simple, every-day language.

S ister Barbara Reid, a Dominican who 'teaches New Testament studies at Aquinas College in Adrian, Mich., called preaching an art. "So," she said, "teach an appreciation of the arts." Also, she said, teach seminarians to speak of Jesus and God as if they actually had heard of them, not just read about them. The Rev. Eugene Hemrick of Washington ran down a list of groups that he said priests rarely address in homilies -gays and lesbians, addicts, the never-married, latchkey kids, etc. "Whom are you preaching to?" he asked.

"Preach to them."

A t the end of the day, Dolan asked for one recommendation. "Hire a full-time homiletics professor," said the Rev. Virgil Elizondo, of San Antonio. Every other head nodded in agreement. "If the bishops accomplished as much today as we did," said Deacon Pat Kennedy, who lives in Lawrenceville, NJ, and is director of development for North American, "they had quite a day."

Christmas

An Evening of Lessons and Cards

By Charles Byrd, Class of 2000, Archdiocese of Atlanta

0ne of the events that marks the Christmas holiday for Americans living in Rome (as well as for numerous other friends of the College) is the annual "Lessons and Carols," which was held this year on December 20.

The evening of readings and choral music is built around the Great O-Antiphons; and as the celebration progresses, the church becomes increasingly more illuminated by candlelight.

The chapel of the Immaculate Conception was filled to capacity with dignitaries and-guests as the Rector spoke of our need to prayerfully consider what the coming of the Incarnate Lord means to humanity (and to our own individual lives). His words challenged His hearers to look beyond the tinsel of the holiday to the "Christ" of the "Christ Mass."

A gainst the backdrop of presidential impeachment and military actions in Iraq, Christ's message of peace seemed all the more pressing on that night. The considerable collective musical talents of the College were drawn upon, as antiphonal chant and polyphony echoed in the dark night; the beautiful creche was displayed, and afterwards, homemade cookies and hot chocolate were offered to all. The night was just the right way to send the students away for their Christmas break.

Right: Fr. Edward P. Smith, '82, Director of Liturgy & Music.

Below: Schola, shown from Left to Right, Top Row: Christopher Sahd, '01, Fr. John Cihak, '97, Paul Fontanella, '02, John Fleckenstein, '02; Bottom Row: Charles Byrd, '00, Leo Patalinghug, '99, Trevor Murry, '01, Dan Gallagher, '99, Erik Walters, '01.

Library

The

Randal Riede, C.F.X., Library

BY Daniel Gallagher, Class of 1999, Diocese of Gaylord

0n Sunday, January 10 amidst the festivities of Alumni

Sister Rebecca Abel, O.S.B, His Eminence James Cardinal Hickey, C'51, and Brother Randal Riede, C.F.X., after the dedication ceremony.

week at the college, His Eminence James Cardinal Hickey, C '51, dedicated the Brother Randal Riede, C.F.X. Library. "Brother was known for many things, not the least of which were his humor and his memorable aphorisms," Cardinal Hickey said at the closing of the mass preceding the dedication "One such aphorism was always said with a smile and a twinkle in his eye: 'Brother knows!'. Well, brother, we know too. we know how much you mean to this library and to this college."

"I t was a great honor to have served the college for 26 years," Brother Randal said afterward. "These years were some of the happiest of my fife." All who had the privilege of residing at the College during Brother Randal's long career will remember his remarkable wisdom continuing generosity and unfailing gentlemanliness.

The college was pleased to welcome His Excellency Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, the new Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, who attended the ceremony along with Archbishops John P. Foley (C'65) and William J. Lavaba ('62), Bishops Paul S. Loverde (166) and William F. Murphy ('64), and former rectors of the College Msgr. Lawrence Purcell ('66), Msgr. Charles Murphy ('62), Archbishop Edwin O'Brien (C'76), and present rector, Msgr. Timothy Dolan ('76).

S ince Br. Randal's retirement in 1997, the operations of the library have been expertly guided by head librarian Sister Rebecca Abel, O.S.B. Through a number of terminals located throughout the library, students can locate books in the collection and access patristic works and the Catholic Periodical Index on CD-ROM. Sister Rebecca has also overseen an architectural reorganization of the library to accommodate a new office, reading room, and the Pius XII conference room. Thanks to a generous donation from the E.L. Wiegand Foundation of Reno, NV, Sister's enthusiastic efforts and the assistance of students and faculty, the circulation system of the library has been computerized through an enormous project of "bar-coding" over 40,000 volumes. The E.L. Wieqanb Foundation supports programs and projects of exemplary organizations in the fields of education, health, and medical research, public affairs, civic and community affairs, and arts and cultural affairs.

The Good Shepherd welcomes all who visit the College Library.

"T he library has been blessed by the generosity of our benefactors and alumni; said Sister Rebecca. "With these resources, I have been able to make the works of the library more accessible.

All this would not have been possible if it weren't for the outstanding collection of books which Br. Randal worked so hard to acquire."

The college is currently moving into a new phase of improving the library facilities at the Casa Santa Maria, which will include relocating and reorganizing the collection. Soon the computer networking which has facilitated research on the Janiculum also will include the growing collection at the graduate house.

Sister Rebecca Abel, O.S.B, and Mrs. Maria Marconi are enjoying the newly installed library automated computer system.

NAC Sports

North American Martyrs Need New Nickname

By James Mason, Class of 2001, Diocese of Sioux Falls

A fter decades of being the doormat of the international seminary soccer league, the North American

A fter decades of being the doormat of the international seminary soccer league, the North American Martyrs are beginning to turn some heads in the among their rivals. The reversal of fortune began with the 1997-98 record, 2-2-1.

Many of the European and African rivals attributed the year to a fluke until the Martyrs exploded into the 1999-2000 season with a convincing 4-1 victory over the World Cup champion French seminarians. The squad then followed this success with a well-fought 3-3 draw against a powerful and skilled international team representing the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI). With our college patroness being The Immaculate Conception and the OMI's obvious devotion to our Holy Mother, a draw seemed to be the favored outcome of our favorite intercessor.

With this new-found success comes the dilemma of deciding on whether to change the time-honored and traditional nickname of the Martyrs to something which may convey more of a sense of challenge to our visiting opponents. Recognizing the value of tradition and with a sense of guarded optimism, team captain and coach Rob Moses, '99, Diocese of Orlando, has suggested a compromise: The Fighting Martyrs.

Coach Moses is quoted as saying, "Although, the new name may not strike fear into the hearts of our rivals, it does let them know they will be in for a match when they come to play." With such confidence, it will surprise no one if The Fighting Martyrs end the season with their first winning record ever.

Left. Brian Klingele, '02, battles it out with the competition of the day.

Below: Michael Tiernan, '02, struggles for the ball against three defenders.

Economo's Corner

"Much Has Been Done"

By Rev. Msgr. Bernard Barrister Class of 1976, Diocese of Scranton

Dust and construction have continued to be the order of the day for the past few months. Much has been done and much is planned to be done.

The construction of The Cardinal Bernardin Suite on the fifth floor has been completed. The furniture shipped from the United States has been received and arranged. The suite has been dedicated and is now ready for guests.

Now all the suites planned for the new fifth floor hospital wing have been finished. The space, has been improved tremendously. Finally, the Maria Immacolata Chapel located in the former Chapel of the Word awaits the altar, chairs and the sacristy cabinets. The latter work should be completed by the end of the academic year.

A lso, at the same time, the Lawrence Cardinal Shehan Suite has been completed. We now await the receipt of the furniture which will be shipped from

America.

On the fifth floor central corridor, work progresses on the Timothy Cardinal Manning Suite. The construction has been completed, the parquet floor has been laid, the fixtures are about to be installed and the painting is being done with the installation of the air conditioning/ heating.

For reasons of increased security, new doors have been installed at Firmum Est. Panic bars have been incorporated in these doors to permit emergency egress after hours. Similar doors have been installed at the exits of the Convent Wing and at the Rappresentanza/ Campo Sportivo exits.

Thanks to funding from the Dan Murphy Foundation, work has begun on the rewiring of the entire seminary building on the Gianicolo. Large cables are being connected from the new main electrical panel in the basement to the secondary panels on each corridor. The rewiring of each room will then follow.

Finally, a number of projects have been completed, namely, the installation of the new washers/dryers in the laundry and the replacement of a major portion of the roof. At the Casa Santa Maria, the new kitchen is finished and functioning, the two Hinkley Suites have been completed and the Audience Office has received new furniture.

The dedication of the Cardinal Bernardin Suite.

Those present: William Cardinal Keeler, '56, C'61, presiding, Rev. Steven Dombrowski, Rev. Robert Kealy, C'85, Msgr. Timothy Dolan, '76, and Most Rev. Donald Wuerl, '67

Alumni 11Oth Reunion

Reunion Highlights:

Dedication of the Carl J. Peter Chair of Homiletics

By Roger Ghatt, Class of 2001, Archdiocese of Washington

There was much to celebrate at this year's Alumni Reunion. It was the 110th reunion, the 140th anniversary of the College, and the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the house that became the original College on the Via dell'Umilta--- all of these anniversaries falling on the eve of the Great jubilee. To celebrate these anniversaries, about 150 alumni came together in Rome. These men felt very privileged to be returning to the Eternal City with all its memories and the ideals she represents. It would be a weekend of many highlights and much spiritual renewal.

For the alumni, faculty and students now studying at the North American College, the greatest blessing and most memorable event of the Alumni Reunion was the Papal Audience. "You have returned to Rome," Pope John Paul reminded the alumni, "where your priestly formation took place and to relive the profound experiences which shaped your identity and nourished your spirituality as priests."

Father Carl J. Peter, '58, teaching.

Indeed it was of great benefit for us seminarians to hear these priests tell how the lessons learned during their years of formation at the College prepared them for the great challenge of proclaiming Salvation from the Lord. We learned how their love of the See of Rome and the successor of St. Peter had enriched their priestly ministry. Many of the alumni visited the four major basilicas, which are so sacred to all of us who live and study in Rome.

They also appreciated the receptions and banquets as

Francis Cardinal Stafford blessing the plaque of the Carl J. Peter Chair of Homiletics. Standing in the background is Cabal Cardinal Daly who gave the first homily.

opportunities to reconnect with old friends and brothers. These were times to talk fondly of school days in Rome and to catch up on more recent events.

Of course, this being a Roman reunion, lots of good pasta was served!

His Holiness Pope John Paul II greets the family of the late Rev. Carl J. Peter.

The alumni were also present when one of their own was honored with the dedication of the Carl J. Peter Chair of Homiletics. Carl Joseph Peter was a student at the North American College from 1951-58. After service as a parish priest at home, he was assigned to the North American College from 1960-64, as assistant vice rector. Upon returning to the U.S., he became a professor of theology at the Catholic University of America, where he taught until his sudden death in 1991.

The College he loved so much was proud to dedicate its Chair of Preaching to him, Carl J. Peter was an exceptionally skilled preacher of the Word of God, and he will have a constant place in our grateful memory. The generosity of his family and of the alumni made this chair possible. His Eminence Cahal Cardinal Daly gave the inaugural address. The tide of his lecture was "Preaching Reconciliation and justice." He reminded us that if our preaching is to be convincing and faithful to the Gospel, it must always be centered our preaching on the person of Jesus Christ.

Archbishop Edwin O'Brien, C'76, proposing one of the three traditional toasts during the reunion banquet.

Anniversary

The 50th for Father Thomas Radloff, SJ.

By Kristian Teater, Class of 2000, Archdiocese of Saint Louis

From the earliest days, priests of the Society of Jesus have been an important part of the North American College. On the First Sunday of Advent, the NAC community came together to honor a priest who has followed a line of distinguished spiritual directors and to celebrate his 50 years in the Society of Jesus.

Fr. Thomas H. Radloff, SJ, entered the Society in the spring of 1948 after he graduated from St. Ignatius High School, Cleveland, Ohio, where he matured in his faith guided by the men whom he would later call "brothers." Two of those brothers would come to celebrate their 50th jubilee along with their classmate: Fr. Henry Chamberlain, SJ, and Fr. Richard Mackowski, SJ, who is well known among the men of the College for his renowned "Study-Tour-Pilgrimages" throughout the Middle East.

A fter his ordination in 1961 by Bishop John Reardon, Fr. Radloff returned to serve the same high school in which he had taught as a Jesuit scholastic in the '50s; the University of Detroit High School, where he would stay until 1987. As a young Jesuit priest, he was in charge of bringing the curriculum of the theology department in line with the mind of the Council. He was also responsible for introducing the liturgies of the new Roman Missal.

Concerning the future challenges for the priests of the Third Millennium, Fr. Radloff believes that these men will have to face the confusion which exists in the world today, especially with regard to the structure of the modern American family. Considering that the family is the "domestic" Church, any instability within it will effect the family's faith life, especially that of the children. Another challenge for the priest of tomorrow will be the continued misunderstanding of what the Second Vatican Council was and what it meant for the Church. He sees that many people still concentrate on certain things about Catholicism which are not the real essence of the faith.

A nother Jubilarian of our house, Sr. Antonia Acosta Avila, H.J., Father Thomas Radloff, SJ, and Sister Antonia Acosta Avila, H.J., share a moment after the banquet.

renewed her vows during the Mass, again consecrating her life to the Divine Bridegroom. This past year she celebrated 25 years of dedicated service to the Lord. Speaking to the community, she humbly thanked God for the gifts which He had given her, and for Fr. Radloff's life as a priest as well.

Casa Santa Maria

"The Waters Do Change"

By Rev. John J. McCarthy Class of 2001, (Casa Santa Maria) Archdiocese of Hartford

Time passes; things change. Even the Eternal City must confront the impact of time. As I returned to Rome

for doctoral studies in canon law, 14 years after my departure as an ordained priest, these vague notions about change took on a more concrete form. The scaffolding I remembered was still there but it now surrounded different buildings. The 64 buses were still crowded but they were newer and shinier. That fascinating blend of frenetic activity and inevitable delay that seems uniquely Roman continued, but in a new, more focused context - that of preparation for the celebration of the Great jubilee.

S oon, however, I came to realize that much of the change I initially perceived in the city may in fact have been less than meets the eye. Change, like beauty, lies in the eye of the beholder. Time, age and experience had shaped my vision and now opened to me a new perspective in my impression of Rome.

S tudies were different. The Code of Canon Law, promulgated the year I was last studying in Rome, was no longer quite so new. Fifteen years had passed and had given it something of a life of its own. It could now be considered not only in the context of the law which had preceded it and of Vatican Council 11, which had given birth to it, but also in its own right as a body of law which has had a significant impact on the life of the Church.

S tudies, however, were not the only thing that I found had changed.

Life at the College had changed for me as well. Seminarians gathered from diverse backgrounds, and united in their common enterprise of formation for ordination, had been succeeded by a group of priests sharing their common bond of priesthood and pursuing varied theological disciplines. The enriching blend of unity and diversity remained but the ingredients had, to an extent, changed. At the same time, a new generation of seminarians had arrived, a group whose obvious talents and dedication allowed me to relive, at least vicariously, the joys of my own formation experience, and to appreciate more fully the ways in which that formation contributes even now to my appreciation of this opportunity to live once again at the heart of the Church.

Fr. John McCarthy standing in the Courtyard at the Casa Santa Maria

It is said that you cannot step into the same river twice. My return to Rome has convinced me that the saying is true, but only to an extent.

The waters do change but the river may remain the same-especially if it is the Tiber.

Institute

The Classroom Outside Of the Classroom

By Rev. Gary Zender, Archdiocese of Seattle

What did the North American College provide for us? As much as anything the NAC gave us an environment for exchange. The variety of professors, some from the United States, others from Europe, affirmed and strengthened what many of us had learned in the seminary years ago. Our lectures were a springboard for the conversations at the dinner table that led to further insight and enrichment of who we are as Priests today. The enthusiasm and dedication of the seminary students renewed our commitment to service and to carrying on the work of the renewal called for by the Second Vatican Council. The NAC provides a strong backbone to the sabbatical experience. This rich environment alone would have provided a worthwhile program. However, there are similar experiences that are offered by programs in many parts of our country and beyond. It is the classroom outside of the classroom that makes the difference here.

A lthough several in our group had previously been to Rome, no one had the gift of time that this program allows in order to experience what the Eternal City has to offer. Everything from the wonderful piazzas and

museums, to the history and architecture of the churches to the rich heritage of our Catholic tradition with all its beauty and its blemishes, makes this program like no other. In addition, many took advantage of the trip to the Holy Land and other shorter excursions within Italy. As the 1999 spring session came to a close, our group departed with gratitude for the great gift of living, studying, praying and playing our way through Rome. This spirit of gratitude is what will inspire us as we continue to serve the Lord and His people.

Those who visited the Holy Land: Kneeling: Rich Carlino (Albany), Terry Kerner (Detroit) Standing (first row): Gary Zender (Seattle), Bill Burks (Louisville), Robert Kaszynski (Fall River); Pierre Plante (Providence), Tad Walczyk (Toronto), Gabriel Fox(Gaylord), Ray LaRussa (Columbus), Dicko Tourissian (tour guide) Standing (second row): David Norris )Fresno), Bill Brown (San Francisco), Bill O'Shea (Joliet), Dan Venglarik (Youngstown), Bill Murray (Chicago), Joe Herp (Louisville) Standing (third row): Kevin McCoy (director ICTE), Dennis Champagne (Seattle), Steve Dombrowski (Chicago), Tim McDonnell (New York), Larry Delonnay (Detroit),' David Rhodes (Youngstown), Fran Stiegeler, SJ (California Province)